1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin discriminating device incorporated in, for example, an automatic vending machine for selling commodities, and the like; and to an automatic vending machine containing the coin discriminating device.
2. Earlier Development
A portion of an automatic vending machine according to an earlier development is shown in FIG. 20. Such automatic vending machines 90 are arranged in amusement houses, the landings of staircases in the department stores and the like. In an automatic vending machine 90, when a buyer puts in one or two normal coins (for example, one-dollar coin, 100-yen coin or the like) and turns a handle 91, a commodity is discharged at a commodity take-out port 92. The automatic vending machine 90 is provided with a coin discriminating device for discriminating whether the put-in coin is the normal coin or a coin smaller than the normal coin.
Such a coin discriminating device and an automatic vending machine containing such a device are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,925 which is based on the application by the same inventor. The coin discriminating device comprises: a turn plate having a cut-out portion in the periphery, which can receive double-layered put-in coins in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation; two coin discriminating levers provided in a state double-layered in the direction parallel to the axis of rotation so as to be operable independently; a spring for biasing the free ends of the coin discriminating levers to abut the turn plate independently; a handle for rotating the turn plate by force, and a passage regulating member for going in the cut-out portion of the turn plate at the initial position to regulate the number of normal coins which can be put into the cut-out portion.
In order to change the number of normal coins which can be put-in, from 2 to 1, in such a coin discriminating device, while the two coin discriminating levers are united as a body by a first setting member for setting the number of coins to be put in, the entirety of or a part of the regulating member for regulating the number of normal coins to be put in the cut-out portion is entered into the cut-out portion of the turn plate by operating the regulating member by a second setting member for setting the number of coins to be put in. On the contrary, in order to change the number of normal coins which can be put-in, from 1 to 2, while unification of the two coin discriminating levers are released by the first setting member, the entirety of or a part of the regulating member is taken out of the cut-out portion of the turn plate by operating the regulating member by the second setting member.
Such a coin discriminating device has a problem that the structure and the operation for controlling two coin discriminating levers are complicated. Further, there is a problem that two operations of the setting members are required in order to change the number of normal coins which can be put-in.